Polar vortex 2019: Chilling photos that'll freeze you solid

Polar vortex 2019: Feel the chill

Millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes are seeing record-shattering temperatures with even lower wind chills — cold so extreme it's been linked to more than 20 deaths. Forecasters have warned that the chill could cause frostbite on exposed skin in five minutes or less. Some 100 million people were expected to experience temperatures near or below zero.

Here, boiling water freezes as it is thrown during subzero temperatures carried by the polar vortex in Chicago January 30.

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Polar vortex 2019: Frozen Chicago River

A pedestrian takes a photo by the icy Chicago River on January 29, 2019.

Polar vortex 2019: A safety warning

Polar vortex 2019: Burn the tracks

A train moves southbound to downtown Chicago as the gas-fired switch heater on the rails keeps the ice and snow off the switches on January 29.

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Polar vortex 2019: Winter is here

Photographer Benjamin Waterseed shared this icy shot from the banks of Lake Michigan on January 30.

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Polar vortex 2019: Frozen fountain

Pedestrians pass a frozen water fountain at Bryant Park on January 3 in New York.

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Polar vortex 2019: 10 below

Bells Brewery in Comstock, Michigan posted this photo of a thermometer reading 10 degrees below zero on January 30.

Credit: Bells Brewery via Instagram

Polar vortex 2019: Iced-in harbor light

A harbor light is covered with snow and ice on Chicago's Lake Michigan on January 30.

Credit: Nam Y. Huh / AP

Polar vortex 2019: Snowy in Wisconsin

Rachel Wolf and her family ventured into the snow in Wisconsin on January 31.

Credit: Rachel Wolf via Rachelwolfclean.com

Polar vortex 2019: All bundled up

They posed for photos in the morning light.

Credit: Rachel Wolf via Rachelwolfclean.com

Polar vortex 2019: Huddling birds

Pigeons huddle together in the snow during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York on January 30.

Credit: Lindsay DeDario/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: Shivering student

A student is dressed for subzero temperatures while walking to class at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on January 29.

Credit: Eric Miller/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: Frozen clothes

A shirt that was hung outside is seen frozen during subzero temperatures carried by the polar vortex in Chicago on January 30.

Credit: Terry Greenbeans/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: Another view from above

This Chicago photographer writes, "Nearly froze my fingers off to get this shot."

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Polar vortex 2019: Avoiding the wind chill

On a Wisconsin farm, these cows stayed warm inside the barn on January 30.

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Polar vortex 2019: One cool cow

Just a day later, once the wind died down, some cows were ready to go back outside.

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Polar vortex 2019: View of Lake Michigan

Frozen Lake Michigan is pictured in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Credit: Joshua Nowicki via Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: View from space

A satellite image above the Great Lakes shows parallel rows of "cloud streets" streaming over the lakes' surface caused by the frigid weather.

Credit: National Weather Service National Hurricane Center/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: City skiing

A man cross-country skis down sidewalk during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York on January 30.

Credit: Lindsay DeDario/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: Chicago freezes over

Ice covers the Lake Michigan shoreline on January 30, 2019 in Chicago. Businesses and schools closed, Amtrak suspended service into the city, more than a thousand flights were cancelled and even mail delivery was suspended.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Fighting the ice

The James Versluis tug boat breaks ice on the frozen Chicago River on January 30 in downtown Chicago.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Icy river

Ice covers the Chicago River on January 30.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Nowhere to go

A boat sits in the ice on the Chicago River on January 30.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Snowed in

This boat is also waiting for the ice to melt.

Credit: Iggipo via Instagram

Polar vortex 2019: One cold sunrise

Photographers shoot the sunrise despite temperatures hovering around minus-20 degrees and wind chills nearing minus-50 on January 31 in Chicago.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex: Snowy lake

A man walks along the Chicago lakefront as temperatures hovered around 20 degrees below zero on January 30.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Shuttered by the cold

A shoe store displays a sign that it is closed due to weather on January 30 in Oak Park, Illinois.

Credit: Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: Wrigley Field

It was certainly too cold for baseball at Chicago's Wrigley Field on January 30. Luckily, opening day isn't scheduled until April 8.

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Polar vortex 2019: Hard for the homeless

A homeless man sits in the falling snow in the Financial District in New York City on January 30. Wind gusts were expected to reach up to 50 miles per hour.

Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Polar vortex 2019: A snowy night

Photographer Benjamin Waterseed braved the ice and snow to snap this photo in Chicago's Park District.

Credit: Thelensoftruth via Instagram

Polar vortex 2019: Cold as ice

There were no people in sight, but Waterseed did find this massive ice formation.

Credit: Thelensoftruth via Instagram

Polar vortex 2019: Braving the chill

A couple takes a photo of ice formed on the American Falls in Niagara Falls, New York, as viewed from the Canadian side, in Ontario, Canada, on January 22.

Credit: Moe Doiron/Reuters

Polar vortex 2019: View from the Mall

The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 31, was frozen.